Thursday, September 3, 2015

RIP Tom Zajac

Sad news in the world of early music: Tom Zajac died earlier
this week. He was supposed to conduct the choir and orchestra at our early
music festival this year, but he had just had his fourth surgery for brain
tumors. Unfortunately, there was nothing the doctors could do for him. He was
an amazing performer and a wonderful teacher, and he gave me one of the most
interesting compliments I have ever gotten: “You read music upside-down better
than anyone I’ve ever met!” RIP, Tom.

I forgot to mention that last Sunday at the Union Terrace,
after Prairie Man had left, Travalon and I took Rodney for a short walk. We saw
a bunch of people watching a guy battle with a fish, and when he finally landed
the big, ugly carp, everyone cheered. Imagine having everyone watch you fish!
They could watch me never get even a nibble on my line.

Yesterday evening Travalon and I took Rodney out in the boat
again. We went toward the lake, but the wind was making the water very rough,
so we went back into the marsh, where the water is always calmer. To our surprise, we saw a bird swimming
underwater with just its head sticking out, like a periscope. A Google search
leads me to believe it could possibly be an anhinga, a subtropical bird that
occasionally comes this far north in the summer. It would be a rare sighting,
but not entirely out of the question. If anyone has any idea what else this
bird could be, feel free to leave me a comment.

About Me

I am a third-hand gift, a straw hat with a wide brim. I used to have natural and navy stripes, but after much time in the sun, the navy ones have faded to a sort of chocolatey tone. The big blue flower around the brim was my wearer's own touch.